What I learnt while I was unlearning

I’m really bad at sailing. Not your common “I’m sure is not that bad” expectation, I really suck at it. I have had to be rescued three times from Boston's Charles River, and on one of those occasions, I haven’t even made it out of the dock.?

Why am I this bad? I can tell you I have been thinking deeply about it, when I was totally desperate in the middle of the river, close to tears, going absolutely nowhere.

Then it came to me: I was applying what had normally worked in my life to this situation, failing miserably. Everything that I have learnt since I started walking, or cycling, or driving, was not successful in this context.

With any other vehicle, if you twist right, you go right; If you want to go faster, you accelerate; If you keep a steady direction, you’ll arrive at your destination.?

That’s not the case with sailing.?In your hands, you have a stick and a cord. To go right (or starboard) you need to twist the stick (called tiller) in the opposite direction while creating the required level of tension in your sails using the cord. To go to your destination, you cannot go straight, you need to zig zag your way there. Your speed is determined by the wind and the current and there is not much you can do when the elements are against you, you just need to follow the flow.?

So that’s how I realized that for me to get better, I really needed to change my mindset and my operating model and forget what I knew about driving vehicles.?

Once I was back in land, luckily safe and sound, I reflected about how similar this is to the changes that organizations need to do today. With the exponential growth of emerging technology, the continued push for innovation and disruption, and the new generations and mindsets coming to the workforce, we really need to start unlearning how we have managed talent in the past.?

Similar to sailing, we need to interact with the forces that are around us and get ready to cross correct if the wind changes. This basically means to be agile and to be ready to unlearn what we know, making space for the new things that are coming. In the case of HR, this requires us to rethink our processes around skills instead of roles, leverage data to drive insights and interventions, embrace a digitalization of everything we do, and be very attentive to what our employees and the external markets are saying. To stay relevant and in sync with the dynamic winds driving our sails, awareness and flexibility will be critical.??

Even after this insight, I’m still very bad at sailing. Unlearning doesn’t come easy; but every time I go out and I start experimenting, I reach a bit further and I feel a bit more confident.?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of current or previous employers. Any content provided by the author is her opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.